Ad Agency WPP Group plc in “mass firing” mode
May 4, 2009
WPP group plc has sent notice that they are cutting anywhere between 7,500 to 10,000 employees. The job cuts are deep and across the board. The 10% reduction in headcount is relative to the 10% loss of business as per George Parker
The problem that we are seeing is that there is limited “senior management” removals other than at Ogilvy, where Chris Wall will be out by July. Steve Hayden will take the reins until a Chris Wall successor is found. David Apicella is out, again as per George Parker.
Advertising Agency, WPP group plc is facing a substantial debt load that is starting to hinder it’s ability to retain talent. In 2009, it still has very limited capability in hot advertising areas such as social media and search engine optimization. Forcing the company to lose revenue as those higher ROI items are being outsourced to non-WPP group companies, and during this recession it’s all about ROI … and not about branding in other words, consumers and businesses are not willing to pay a premium for a “brand name” when their own balance sheet looks ugly.
There is a reason Wal-mart isn’t hurting as much as Neiman Marcus during this recession ..
Someone forgot to tell WPP that this is out of style.
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